The Rambling Inn

When Damian Cashman arrives he won’t just roll into town. He’ll ramble.

Cashman is the founder and owner of The Rambling Inn, a new pub on wheels inspired by traditional Irish pubs. The Irish Pub is an integral pillar of every Irish community serving as an unofficial confessional, a familiar living room, a community center, and a source of news in times before texting and social media changed the way we communicated.

When many of the Irish & Scotch brands searched for a whiskey historian and consultant to breathe life into their brand’s history, Damian Cashman’s knowledge and passion for fine spirits, developed over 22 years of owning and operating Irish Pubs.

Through his whiskey travels, Damian found that many places were without the grace and charm of an Irish pub. While understanding that it was not feasible to build an Irish pub in every corner of the world, perhaps bringing the enchantment of Irish traditions, echoing the memories of growing up in Tipperary, Ireland, could still be done on a mobile basis, thus giving rise to The Rambling Inn.

Damian brought the vision to Troy Stuckey, and like so many great ideas before them, they drew it out on a napkin over a pint while contemplating how the idea could be brought to life. While Troy and Damian worked tirelessly to build their vision, from the chassis of what was once a fifth wheel RV trailer, it became clear that the heart of an Irish Pub is so much more than the four walls, a wooden bar, and a brogue. It is a home away from home, a revered public house to celebrate life’s most important occasions, or a haven to visit for no particular reason at all. It is the people, the community, the shared laughed, and a destination that can fill a void that, for a moment, may need to be filled with the craic and banter that can only be found in an Irish Pub.

“Irish pubs are so integral,” he said, They’re such a vital part of the community. Everything from baptisms to weddings to post-weddings to every life occasion is pretty much celebrated around the community of your local Irish pub.”

It was an idea that wouldn’t quite go away. Cashman recalled thinking.

“I could bring a pub with me,” Cashman had answered. It was a joke. Except it wasn’t, totally.

Within a year, Cashman had found a 32-foot camper from 1991, on sale from Craigslist. For a year, it sat in his yard. Then he started a rehab, a process that included an aluminum skeleton, dark wood, off-white walls, a keg cooler and tap system, and custom 16-foot slide out bar that expands.

“You’re immersed in what pubs in Tipperary of my youth were,” he said.

It has restrictions: Because mobile pubs are not licensed to just “pull up and starting beer on the street,” it’s an event-oriented bar. People can book the pub through Cashman, or he can roll in to events, like a fundraiser.

The Rambling Inn will do a little rambling out of the state, driving from Maine to Philadelphia on a contract from Jamison Whiskey.

“We’re like whiskey gypsies, I suppose,” he said. “It’s very important that we represent Irish whiskey, Irish culture, and Irish pubs in a positive way.”